Facebook Controversy: Who Created An E-Mail Account In My Name?

A number of users have recently noticed a new e-mail address with their name on it pop up on their Facebook account... An e-mail address they never created. Yet another in a string of controversies to hit the company.

Facebook has once again incited the ire of the public, and this time it isn't about share price. It's the e-mail address with their name on it ending in @facebook.com that has appeared in their account settings. (Yours truly happens to be one of these users.)

The change was made overnight without informing users. "What you don't know can't hurt you", right? Given the number of users on Facebook, how could the company have thought this could go unnoticed? It is, of course, most likely a strategy to get people to start progressively using their Facebook addresses instead of their Yahoo or Gmail accounts.

So, we tried a few things out, and here's what we found. When someone tags you in a photo you still receive a notification at your regular e-mail address. But when someone sends you a Facebook message you don't receive anything. I sent an e-mail to my new Facebook address and received it as a "message". Interesting...

The company has responded by pointing out that users can always change their privacy settings. Just as members can filter what's published on their Timeline, and they can choose whether or not to publish their e-mail address. Facebook gave this statement: "we are extending this feature to other user information, starting with the Facebook addresses." Sounds like we can expect more changes to come.

You can't delete your Facebook address, but if you want to see it, just go to Account Settings and then General Account Settings.